KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister’s press secretary Datuk Seri Tengku Sariffuddin Tengku Ahmad today lambasted The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and Sarawak Report (SR) for what he described as a 'vindictive campaign' against Malaysia.
He said it was a disgrace that the good name of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah has been dragged into the foreign media’s attacks on Malaysia.
In a statement today, Tengku Sariffuddin said the deceitful reporting on important national events by the WSJ and Sarawak Report showed that they had no respect for the country, its sovereignty or its monarchy.
“For over a month, these publications maliciously reported that the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Razak) had appointed his supposed “1MDB-linked ally” Tan Sri Irwan Serigar Abdullah to be the new Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia, despite the fact that no decision had been made,” he said.
He said their lie was exposed when Datuk Muhammad Ibrahim was appointed as Governor this week.
“To cover up their lie and international embarrassment, the WSJ and SR then reported that this was a “U-turn” by the Prime Minister following pressure. Also, it was fictitiously claimed that His Majesty had previously signed the appointment of Tan Sri Irwan, and was persuaded to change the nomination, and was angry about this matter. Both His Majesty and Tan Sri Irwan have now publicly stated that this is false,” he said.
He said Tuanku Abdul Halim only signed one appointment for Muhammad on April 26 while Irwan was never offered the post.
“The WSJ and SR cannot offer a shred of evidence to back up their reporting. It’s based not on facts, but on anonymous sources — in this case “a person familiar with the matter”. This source may not even exist. Or they could be just another proxy for Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's 'Anti-Najib Campaign', whose lies the WSJ and SR buy outright.
"This is fantasy journalism. They are shamelessly peddling Opposition fabrications as facts,” he said.